In Hiding
by Pullingthetrigger-allwrong
Summary: After Sasuke leaves her without notice, his wife realizes she cannot stay with him especially with the arrival of her child. Will Sasuke abandon hope for his wife and find romance once again, or will he continue his search for her? SasuHina
1. Chapter 1

Hi everyone! I'm new here, and this is my frst fic. That's not much of an excuse, but try to ignore

whatever errors I may have. I have a pretty good, yet vague idea of where this fic is headed, so I

shoud be able to make an update every week. Reviews would be great, I'd love to hear what you have

to say, so don't be shy! Like I said in my profile, I don't bite ;)

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Or Sasuke. Or Neji. Or Gaara. Or anyone else for that**

**matter. But I can dreaammmmm 8D**

Chapter One

The girl fixed the over-sized aviator sunglasses over her eyes so that she was covered. The locals

gave her questioning looks about her choice of hat; she was currently sporting a large, floppy

knit hat with a cheesy sunflower on it. It was the only hat that was large enough for her to tuck in

her nearly waist length hair. Plus, the many flops in it did wonders in concealing her face. She  
self-consciously rearranged the hat, checking the pins to make sure it would not be a victim of the wind.

_"Look on the bright side...maybe you're...like, in those spy movies. AH, yes, what's it called?_

_In...hog...shmog...cog..cog! Incognito!"_

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, trying to pretend her heart wasn't going a million miles

an hour. Walking in the dry, hot, humid weather with an itchy hat on made her feel tired and worn

out. Checking the name above the store to make sure, she took scared but sure steps toward

the small corner building.

The bell twinkled as she slid the door to a local bakery. Her footsteps and ueven breathing patterns

were lost in sea of laughter and voices. She was glad; the last thing she needed was unnecessary

attention. At the front of the store, a man, around his mid-thirties, was sitting behind the counter with

a notepad. "Hello, how may I help you?"

"Hello, I was wondering...if you had any available jobs?"

He took one look at her floppy hat and over-sized shades with a confused look. She bit her lip; even

she knew how shady she might look to other people. "I'm sorry miss, but I don't think there are

any jobs left here."

Her gaze fell to the ground, further obscuring her face. The man's face expression softened when he

saw how round and innocent her face looked. "Perhaps you should try asking around; I'm sure

one of these places could use someone like you."

A small smile crept onto her face before drooping into a frown. "I've already tried...well, I'm sure your

busy. I won't keep you, but thank you. Thank you very much."

As she began to turn around and leave, he took a look at her profile and noticed the slightest of bulges

on her stomach. He would've passed it off as a few gained pounds, but the girl was so thin everywhere

else that it could only mean one thing. His heart sank with realization; man, was he growing soft.

"Wait." She turned around with a blank look. "Come here." Nervously, she walked towards him until

they were a few inches apart. "Let me see your eyes."

Hesitating, she sighed giving in. She really needed this job, at least for a little while. He peered at her

eyes while hers looked straight at him with only sheer honesty. Content, he nodded as she quickly

put the shades back onto her face. "Well, as far as I can tell, you look like an honest person. You

know what, we've always been looking for someone to fetch our raw materials for us; the shipping

company over prices us like crazy. Think you can do it?"

Even from behind the sunglasses, he could tell that her eyes were lit up as she openly smiled. "Thank

you very much, ahh..."

"Daiki."

"Daiki-san. Thank you so much!"

He smiled at her as she began to walk away. "Ah, what is your name miss?"

"Harumi."

"Well, miss Harumi, you can come here tomorrow by 9. And also...you shouldn't hide such beautiful

green eyes from the rest of the world." She reddened with embarrassment, but smiled, bowed, then

proceeded to leave the bakery.

Harumi thought about her life, and realized that a job meant commitment, and commitment was the

first step to settling down. This was it; it was really the start. At age 19, she was slowly beginning

this new life. As she took a step out of the small, cozy bakery, she took a deep breath; the first

step towards the rest of her life.

,.-;-'-;-.,.-;-'-;-.,.-;-'-;-.,.-;-'-;-.,.

He had been outside of the tiny apartment room for three hours now. It made no sense; coming

home was supposed to be the easy part. He couldn't place a finger on it, but something was

preventing him from knocking on that door. Trying to ball his fists, he noticed the simple golden

band on his finger and cringed. Had it really already been a whole year since her gentle hands had

slid that ring onto his finger, signing herself to him?

As he comtemplated the meaning of marriage, a hairy beer-gutted forty year old man emerged from

their apartment. His dark coal eyes bulged out of their sockets, and he nearly doubled over.

"You keep standing out their, and me and my girlfriend will call the cops."

"Girlfriend? Girlfriend?" What was the meaning of this! Sasuke looked the man over, from his

pathetic comb over, stained shirt, and hairy toes, could his wife have possibly left him for this..this...

_thing?_ No...there was no way in hell...

"Hey, by any chance, is your name Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest and

glared at the repulsive man.

"Yeah. So what?"

"Nuthin. Just that the old resident here left this for you." The Uchiha snatched it out of his hand

and furrowed his browse. In a napkin, in tear-stained letters was a different address. Sasuke

was simply too confused to question the man, and instead sort of wandered around. He blinked, and

realized that he was at the address on the napkin. Remebering his wife, he checked in the potted

fern by the door, and there it was; the key.

His fingers were shaking as he slipped the key into the door and turned it...

When he got inside, he saw that all of his belongings were neatly arranged around a small house. With

remorse, he saw the portrait of his late mother hanging in one of the corridors. From the finely polished

wooden frame, he knew that his wife had cleaned it herself; she knew it was one of the few possessions

he treasured.

His wife...Sauske frantically ran around the house, looking for something, anything, that belonged to her.

Something to show that she was alive...but nothing. Even their old bed, filled with bittersweet moments,  
was replaced by a single. It was as if she had never even existed. Sasuke leaned against the walls and

laughed bitterly...

_She was gone._

And he didn't blame her. He had left for an entire year, with nothing more than a crazy rumor as his main

lead. Frankly, he didn't deserve her. Here he was, after nearly a year, and she hadn't thrown out

his things. Quite the opposite, she had bought a house for him and arranged his things there.

Why did she leave? Why didn't she tell him? Why didn't she leave a note? And most of all..

Why did she have to be so damn caring? It made it impossible for him to be mad at her.

Picking up his key and grabbing his coat, Sasuke locked the front door and went towards the Hokage

Tower. He needed answers, and he needed them now.

,.-;-'-;-.,.-;-'-;-.,.-;-'-;-.,.-;-'-;-.,.

Taking off her hat and removing her sweaty sunglasses, Harumi walked into her small apartment and

plopped onto her sofa. Her feet were killing her. Now doing the waling for two, she was finding walking

to be difficult and draining. Instinctively, her hand went to her now visible bump, gently rubbing it.

Sighing, Harumi tightly held her stomach and closed her eyes. _"Now, I don't have a choice. This is_

_the best...for us both.."_

Her quiet musings were interrupted as a familiar face emerged from the shadows. A smaall smile graced

her lips at the sound of him. "Hello, Mr. Guy from the Witness Protection Program. So nice to see you."

With a hearty laugh, he nodded. "Right back at ya. So...is everything okay? Did you get the job?"

She nodded and smiled. "You were right. He is a very kind person. I didn't even have to throw myself

at his ankles and grovel."

He stepped closer and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Like anyone would ever let a pretty thing

like you grovel."

The girl playfully hit him on the shoulder and smiled. He opened his mouth to speak, but seemed at odds

with himself. Noting his hesitation, she frowned. "Is something the matter?"

"No! No, it's nothing! Just...if you ever want out...you know...I can help you. I'm always here. I'll always

give you options."

"And you say this as Mr. Guy from the Witness Protection Program?"

"That..." he affectionately patted her shoulders. "...and a childhood friends. We were friends then, and we're

still friends now. If you ever need anything..." he was perched on the windowsill. "...You know how to

contact me." And without a trace, he was gone.

As he left, Harumi's stoic facade began to crumble. It was so easy pretending to be someone else in a town

where you didn't know anybody, and nobody knew you. Seeing him...it reminded her of everyone she was

leaving behind back in Konoha...

"_Rookie 9...my family. Everyone. I'm terrible, it's been a year, and already I miss you all so _

_much..."_

Her face crumpled into a wince as a few tears slid down her smooth cheeks. Quickly wiping away their

existence, she remembered him and suddenly felt more anger than sadness. It was never a long-lived

anger, and it certainly could never outweigh her deeply-felt sorrow, but it sure as hell could keep her  
occupied, no matter how brief the relief was.

A year...he had disappeared for nearly a year. Somehow, he had never had time to call her. Hell, he had

never even bothered to write her one damn letter. He had left her, to be confused, scared, and most of all..

_Alone._

She tried to pretend it was all okay. She waved, she smiled, she kept a strong face. It killed her to pretend

that the emptiness and lonliness wasn't slowly eating her away. She would've stayed there, waiting for him

to come back if it hadn't been for a sign from above.

It was hard, but for the sake of her life and the life of another, she had to stay strong. She was too far ahead

to forfeit now.

As she lied down on her twin sized bed, staring absently at the ceiling, sleep seemed far out of her reach. Try

as she might, she simply couldn't remove him from her thoughts. Despite all of the hurt she had endured, all

of the pain he put her through, she simply couldn't seem to stop caring about it.

Maybe that was what made running away so damn difficult...

,.-;-'-;-.,.-;-'-;-.,.-;-'-;-.,.-;-'-;-.,.

Sasuke scowled as he walked back to their..._his_...new house. The damn Hokage just had to be at the

Sunagakure for some stupid business meeting or other. The stupid drooling receptionist sure didn't

help in lifting his spirits. Sighing as he plopped onto the bed, he wondered if this, he would lose her

forever...


	2. Chapter 2

I'd like to thank Spirit of the Chihuahua for bringing something big to my attention! You see, you know those little symbols on your comp, like the smiley faces and stuff? Well I used the "half" symbol in front of year, and I guess since I'm using wordpad it didn't show up. So what I meant to say was, he's been gone for a half year. Sorry about that, I didn't catch that when I posted it So thank you again Spirit of the Chihuahua for letting me make that correction :D And I'd like to say sorry for any confusion I might have caused you all D: I'll be more careful this time; even the percent sign won't show up

**Disclaimer: Roses are pretty, so are you/ I don't own Naruto, so DON'T SUE!**

Chapter Two

Harumi huffed and puffed as she lugged her own body weight's worth of flour up a ridiculously steep hill. As she struggled in vain to look over the towering sack of flour, the young man from the mill gave her a funny look as she tried to re-adjust her sunglasses with the side of the flour sack. Why a probably 6 month pregnant woman was lugging around a huge sack of flour was beyond him. From her limp, slow steps he knew that her ankles were sore. He scratched his chin; from what he could tell from beneath the floppy hat, she looked fairly young. In her early twenties at most. The young man shook his head; whatever the story was, it was none of his business. His only concern was the money she gave him when she came to pick up the flour. Still...

He was hit with the sudden, overpowering urge to snatch the flour from her slender little fingers and carry it for the entire 3 1/2 miles back.

--------------------------------

At around noon, Sasuke groggily opened his eyes and winced when he saw the time. Usually, the sunshine was his daily wake up call. He ran a hand through his disheveled (but still drool-worthy) hair as he rolled out of bed and headed for the showers. As his hand closed around the "H" knob, he noticed a small, hand written note taped onto the shower curtains: _The knobs are switched. H is cold and C is hot. Don't turn the knobs too far, or they'll shut off. There's a tub-stopper in the lower left-hand cabinet, next to the razors._

After reading the note he snatched it off the curtains and rumpled it in his fist. She knew he liked to take hot baths after his training. Why did she have to leave these little, constant reminders of her? _Because she actually cares about you._ It didn't help him to know that she was getting under his skin without even knowing it. While the screaming hot liquid poured over his closed eyes, his thoughts wandered to where she could've possibly gone off to. Where ever it was, Sasuke was sure of three things:

1. It would have to be far away, in some rural distant area

2. She would be in some laughably ridiculous "disguise"

3. ...where the hell would he start?

A name clicked in his head as he put his clothes on absent-mindedley. Of course _he_ would have something to do with this. They had been friends for years and years, the three of them. Without bothering to lock the front door out of habbit, Sasuke slammed the door shut and ran straight for the Hokage's Office.

-------------------------------------

Bang Bang Bang "Naruto."

"What the hell are you 'guards' doing out there, anyway? He could be coming here for my life for all I know!" Muttering incoherencies under his breath, Naruto pried himself out of the orange Co-Z chair and reluctantly cracked open the door. "Yes, princess?"

Giving him a dirty look, Sasuke brushed past him as he stormed into the messy office. "I think you know why I'm here."

"Because you missed me?"

"Cut the crap, Naruto. Three words."

"...Where's my ramen?"

"Where's.My.Wife."

"...You expect me to know when you're the one who can't even keep track of her? What am I now, your mother? I am extremely busy, Hokage-ing, so if you excuse-"

"Busy?" He snorted. "Jiraiya's latest addition is sticking out from under the rug, baka."

"Kuso! Ah well, you caught me. But you know, those books are..._educational._ Know what I mean? Nudge-Nudge, hehe?"

Sasuke took a seat on his couch, which shook Naruto out of his playful mood. Only someone in some serious distress would dare sit on that couch; no one even remembered what color it used to be anymore. "Look, Sasuke...I really wish I could help. But I don't know anything and, well, can ya blame her really? I mean you don't know how many times she walked through that door with some funny excuse like 'I thought you'd be hungry, so I brought you some food' or 'the rain keeps me up' just to have some company."

"I know..." he pictured her lying wide awake in bed, and walking all the way here. "Isn't that why I told you to look after her? Why else woud I ask you for something like that?"

"Yeah...but, ..I'm not her husband."

"..."

"Gah, I.." he scratched the back of his head, ruffling his untamed hair. "I can't give her the same, _comfort_, you can. It's different. I don't think you're getting that."

Sasuke sighed, tucking his hands behind his head and leaning back in the sofa. "So...you're really not going to help me?"

"Wha?..."

With a blazing stare that only Uchiha's could expertly execute, Sasuke turned to face him. "I know you know Naruto."

"I don't know."

With more anger then he had intended, Sasuke brushed past Naruto, mutering a "fine." Without so much as a backward glance, he was descending down the stairs, each footstep leaving a lasting echo. Naruto sighed, burying his face in Jiraiya's latest edition of his world famous series. Somehow, he couldn't help but wonder...if maybe something, anything he could have told Sasuke would have helped him in this goose chase.

----------------------------

Sasuke felt a good dose of ironic deja vu; it was all happening like last time. With next to no clues or leads, he was embarking on a quest that would likely be very long and fruitless. Boy, now that he looked at it, he was a pretty rash guy. Hopefully, this time would end up better than the last. Sasuke produced a crinkled piece of paper that looked nearly forgotten. After another run in with the new occupants, he had managed to find this only link to her. Every step he took into the dingy apartment ate away a piece of him. As he explored every inch of the house, he explored every single way that they had corrupted the warm, lively environment she had worked hard to create. By these two sense-less slob, they had created it into nothing more than a simple land fill stuffed with junk.

The ink was mostly faded out, and the paper was stained with lots of dirt and who knows what else. But still, he was called a genius for something, right?

From what he could tell, it said something like this:

- - - r - - n - - a - - 19/ - 1

Pa - - e - - - - H- - - - - - - - - - a

- - - a - for - #19/1/-2

The rest was too smudged, stained, or ripped to decipher at all. He couldn't even count the empty spaces. It wasn't much, but it was all he had to go by. From all his years of traveling, he knew that afor was most likely platform, so where ever she was couldn't be too rural. It had a train station, that much he knew. And...19...nope. Nothing. And the numbers..there were so many number combination possibilities that it was damn near impossible to figure out.

Why was he trying so hard to find her? And what would he say? 'Sorry for leaving for a half year with no note, letters, calls, or anything. Jee, I really suck at life don't I?'

Sighing, he got to the nearest train station with a big sack of money. If there was a station to go to, he would be there...

--------------------------

"Daiki-san...sorry I'm late."

The older man gave her a slightly glum smile as she shuffled to get through the door. Pity that she had no one who would open the doors for her... He didn't want to give her this job; who in their right minds would want to walk for 3 1/2 miles for some flour, then walk 3 1/2 miles back while carrying 20 pounds worth of flour? It was a fairly heart-warming sight, watching the young woman trying to balance the flour on her growing mound.

"Don't worry about it; you're only ten minutes late."

"I know but I'm sorry! Do you...would you like me to help the baker?"

He blinked. "You bake?"

Her cheeks reddened as she pointed her fingers together. "I-I'm a decent...cook..."

"Well, since we're behind schedule, would it be all right if you helped out Ms. Kirumi out back?"

"Of course!" As she walked past him to go in the back where the ovens were, he gently patted her head affectionately. "Don't work too hard...okay?"

"O-Okay."

--------------------------------------

After spending a few hours assisting the head baker with simple tasks such as beating the eggs and measuring the ingredients, Harumi emered from the back, dusted with a fresh layer of flour. Daiki chuckled softly as he watched her try in vain to shake the flour out of her hair. "I didn't know it could snow down here in this region."

She smiled as she dusted the chalky white finger-prints from her stomach. "You learn something new every day."

At the end of her shift, she said good bye to everyone and had a walk down the few shops and stalls that lined the streets. The employees watched sympathetically as the young woman hobbled out the door. It wasn't hard to warm up to such a nice, hardd-working girl like her.

Wincing at the throbbing in the soles of her feet, Harumi grabbed the sides of her swelling stomach and smiled. "You just get heavier every day don't you?" She didn't know why or when she had grown accustomed to conversing with her tummy. Maybe it was lonliness, maybe it boredom. Whatever need it met, she always got a satisfying feeling in her that food alone couldn't accomplish.

She opened the front door and looked at her clean, tidy little apartment. With its blank white walls, boring gray carpet, and lack of furniture, it looked as if it weren't even occupied. There wasn't a single personal touch in her entire apartment.

What was she so afriad of? All she wanted was a little color in the place...that wasn't such a crime was it?

But she knew deep down that she was simply scared to attach herself somewhere that wasn't "home." She laughed at her foolishness; hadn't she left that piece of her life behind? Here she was, sweating under this hat that could double as a picnic basket, wearing sunglasses that covered half of her cheeks, and she was ony half-committed to this new life?

There was nothing to wait for; no one would come save her from this lonliness. So why was she preparing to up and leave?

Harumi reached into her bag and pulled out the vibrant, colorful cloth. She had been nervous when she bought it on the way home; in fact, it was a spur-of-the-moment decision. But the emptiness of her apartment only multiplied the whole in her chest; she really needed some color.

Attaching the soft fabric to her bare windows, she stepped back and admired it.

It's boldly contrasting patterns of red and blue added a different hue to her bland living space. She couldn't help but bring one thought into mind:

_A piece of home away from home._

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Sorry I didn't update in forever, but it was really hard getting the tone and feeling of it the way I wanted it. You'd laugh at how different this is from the original. Thank you all for your patience. I do intend to finish this fic, even though it was an experiment (being my first fic). I might upload another chapter today :D


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